Author Archives:
David Martin

Tunstall’s town centre is becoming more and more like a ghost town every day.

Spotlight on North Staffordshire would support a campaign by local people to prevent the city council “selling off” the Victoria Institute to a property developer when the library leaves the building and moves into the town hall which is now being regenerated after being closed for almost 30 years.

The proposal by at least one councillor that the Institute could be turned into luxury flats for high powered executives working in Manchester and Birmingham is ridiculous.

Local elections are being held in May, and the city’s political parties have already launched their campaigns to get your vote.

Even though it is non-political, Spotlight on North Staffordshire and The Potteries is concerned about the future of Tunstall, a town that reminded a group of American visitors of Skid Row in Los Angeles.

Before deciding to vote for a candidate, residents should ask all candidates how they intend to halt the town centres decline.

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Did you know that our website has a Diary Date section which local history societies can use to publicise their activities?

All you have to do to gain widespread publicity for your event throughout North Staffordshire and The Potteries is mail us at daymar727@talktalk.net and tell us about the event three weeks before it takes place.

Please contact us if you would like to know more about Diary Date and how it can help you to let more people about your activities and events.

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Spotlight on Stoke is researching the history of education in Tunstall.

We are hoping to write short posts about all the schools in the town including:

St. Mary’s

The Catholic School in Oldcourt Street

Summerbank Road Schools

Tunstall High School for Girls

Brownhills High School

High Street Schools

Forster Street Schools

Except for Forster Street, all the schools built in Tunstall during the 19th century have been demolished. Very few photographs of them survive. If you attended any of these schools and would like to share memories of your school days with us, please email spotlightstoke@talktalk.net

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Explore the links between Staffordshire and the Spitfire with the museum’s local history curator and find out the latest progress on the aircraft’s restoration. Free talks at 11am and 1pm.
Date: 27 April
Location: The Potteries Museum and Art Gallery Bethesda Street, City Centre, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, ST1 3DW

(2) Spring Wreath Workshop at the World of Wedgwood

Visit the World of Wedgwood for a fun afternoon learning how to make a professional standard spring wreath!
Date: 5 April
Location: World of Wedgwood, Stoke on Trent, Staffordshire, ST129ER
Time: 10:00 – 12:00

(3) Spring Wreath Workshop at Westport Lake Visitor Centre

Come along to Westport Lake Visitor Centre for a fun afternoon learning how to make a professional standard spring wreath.
Date: 7 April
Location: Westport Lake, Westport Lake Road, Longport, Stoke-on-Trent, ST6 4RZ

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Did you know that our website has a Diary Date section which organisers of cultural activities and community groups can use to publicise their activities?

All you have to do to gain widespread publicity for your event throughout North Staffordshire and The Potteries is mail us at daymar727@talktalk.net and tell us about the event three weeks before it takes place.

Please contact us if you would like to know more about Diary Date and how it can help you to let more people about your activities and events.

Spotlight on North Staffordshire and The Potteries is delighted to learn that traders are coming back to Tunstall’s outdoor market in Tower Square.

A town without a market is a town without a heart.

Markets give a town character and atmosphere. They sell a wide variety of high-quality reasonably priced fruit and vegetables, meat and fish, gifts and luxury items, groceries and provisions. In fact, they are places where you can buy almost anything from a pin to an elephant. (Well perhaps not an elephant but we should be happy to be proved wrong.)

Tunstall Market is one of the best markets in the United Kingdom. The Spotlight Team is pleased that it is attracting new traders who will increase the range of products sold. We welcome the new traders. They will bring new life to the High Street and the town centre. We hope their businesses prosper and that they will stay in Tunstall for a long time. The town needs them.

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Spotlight on North Staffordshire and The Potteries is writing a booklet about the history of the town hall and the market.

Did you work in the market or did you go shopping there with your mother when you were growing up? Can you remember the stalls that were in the market hall and the things they sold before it was regenerated at the end of the 20th century?

If you have memories or old photographs of the market or the town hall which you would be willing to share with us, please email David Martin at daymar727@talktalk.net